A Very Merry Christmas......

It was a very merry Christmas indeed.....strange in some ways, but truly a blessing nonetheless.
We started our celebrations on the 23rd with Corey, Cole, Libby and Joe. Corey had to work on Christmas, so we wanted some special time together. We devoured our Colassessano's Pepperoni Rolls, then progressed to package opening. Libby and Joe got all gussied up for the event.
(Click on photos to enlarge)




Doesn't she look like she's floating!!!










There is actually a tie under
that chin!!!








As soon as her gifts were opened, Libby peeled off the dress and got into something more
comfortable.......nothing!!





Corey assembled Joe's
Red Rocket.







Our next celebration was with Chris, Nancy, Aubree & Mia. We traveled to their house on Christmas Eve, attended the Candlelight Service at their church, stopped over and Dianne and Danny's house (SIL & BIL) for a bite to eat, then back to Chris', where we spent the night.

After the girls got up, the gift opening commenced.

Aubree had "wupstuk" (lip gloss) in her stocking and that was her fave gift. She uses it constantly.....yes, I mean constantly!









Pappy helped Mia with her new family of rubber duckies.













Mia was a hoot.........

Mia and her MeMe.

She woke up with
"cockatoo hair"
and it stayed that
way all day!





Our next stop was at my sisters' house (my mother's house). This part was strange without Mom there......but we coped. We managed to get through the weekend, but there were many thoughts of her,both spoken and unspoken. Rick and I have discussed that with the kiddies for entertainment, it was a lot easier than we thought it would be. God was very good to us this holiday.....as He is every day....and I personally enjoyed His gift to us much more this year than in several years. Someone brought to my attention the intimate personal gift that Jesus was for each of us. He was born for Becky. He was born to bring the reconciliation of (insert your name here) to the Father. WOW!

Christmas past

While wrapping presents I began to think about Christmases when I was a little girl. They were almost all spent at a grandparents' house and it wouldn't be unusual to be snowed-in up at the Smith farm up at Mt. Airy in Pocahontas Co., WV (which is close to Snowshoe). I was always delighted beyond words when the electricity went off and the oil lamps came out. We were as warm as usual because the house was heated with Warm Morning and King-O-Heat woodstoves in a couple of rooms and the wood cook stove was fired up. I wasn't inconvenienced at all! As I have gotten older I have realized that might not have been the case for the adults, but it was great fun.

It was one of these snow event Christmases that I got my favorite Christmas gift. I was 4 and my sister Debbie was about 7 months old. The Smith farm was about 45 miles down one mountain and over another from our house. Well, after we arrived Mom discovered that she had forgotten the formula for Debbie back at our house. Nothing to do but my dad and my uncle (whom I affectionately dubbed Tubby) headed back out into the snowstorm. I was pretty oblivious to all these details, but have had the story told to me so many times I can almost picture this part.

Hours later, Daddy and Tubby arrived back at the farm. By this time I was in bed because it wouldn't be long until Santa Clause arrived. Ohhhhhhhh, the excitement!!! Just as soon as my dad and Tubby got back, they proceeded to begin putting together my Christmas present.
It was a cardboard "Supermarket". I guess the Tab A's into Slot B's lingered long into the night.
Bless their hearts.

I was thinking about this present when I remembered that someone had sent me a link to
WishbookWeb.com and I wondered........could it......would it.......IT WAS!!! A picture of a cardboard Supermarket from the 1958 Sears Christmas Catalog (the year following mine). I felt like I had found a treasure!
Here is the page......













<<<< Here it is (a bit
blurry). It cost " >.97 and
it was my main present.
I was in heaven...I could
play store.











I had so much fun looking at the toys in this catalog.....now THESE were toys!!! I found a ton that I would ask for today!

Oh well, enough nostalgia......I'm down to one more present to wrap so I am off to get that done. If you get a little time, hit the wishbook site and take a little trip down memory lane.
Becky

Rick's birthday

Yesterday was Rick's birthday and we had a little family dinner to celebrate. I fixed his favorite dinner: chicken and dumplings, sweet potatoes, and "corns" (as Libby calls them). We got the little table out of the attic and Aubree and Libby ate there. This table and chairs was mine when I was little (good grief, I think it qualifies as an antique.....50 years old....ugh).

















After we ate, we got out the party stuff and enjoyed red velvet birthday cake.....





Joe was upset he didn't get any chicken and dumplings!












Mia is our party gal!!









All in all a wonderful time.


Have a great weekend!
Becky

A good day.......

This was a good day. I was afraid the weather was not going to cooperate and let our Bible Study group (hereafter known as the Holy Huddle) have our Christmas party. It was snowy and beginning to stick to the roads by the time we left, but we got to do our thing.

This group of gals is sooooooo important to me. They are definitely my sisters. We laugh with each others' joys and cry in each others' sorrows. We support and lift up each other with no thought of judgment. We've all had a turn "through the mill" and we have all gotten closer because of it.

Here's my sisters.....

I also have to add another pic because our fearless leader took the picture. She is on the right.

We have a lot of fun and laughter, but take our Study very seriously and are all seeking to grow spiritually. Three of our ragtag bunch were unable to be there today and their absence was genuinely felt. I thank God every day for all of them. How great our Father's love for us......

Have a warm fuzzy evening.
Becky

O happy day!!

Things are lookin' up on the Craft Room front. I have stewed and hissied and fought the space I have in the basement all week trying to make room for the new machine and other things that need set up.....and just came to the conclusion there just isn't enough room down there. I was more than depressed at the situation, to say the least.....especially since the only piece of unclaimed space in the basement (that I had planned to expand my craft room to) had been commandeered by Rick to put in fitness equipment!! After my hissy fit, Rick suggested I take one of the bedrooms and have at it. So sometime this weekend the bed comes out and sewing machines go in. I will keep the area in the basement to store fabric, etc that I don't have to have at hand all the time. Whoooo Hooo! We still have 2 other bedrooms for company. Sounds like a plan....finally.

I have to share this picture of Doodle and Meow Meow. All of us who have tried to take a picture of two (or more) children at the same time.......especially for a Christmas Card.......can relate. I know what their parents were thinking when they were trying to take a decent picture, don't you?!! What a hoot.


I'm glad they shared the reject! Hope everyone has a ho-ho-ho weekend!!
Becky

So much for the billions........

OK, so I didn't get the billions of things done I need to do....but I did get 3 kinda big things off the list. I never even looked at the list of the "want to do" things, because I got a surprise visit from 2 of the grands......and that always takes precedence over all lists!!

 They gave me a much needed smile!

Well, back to the list...... I'm working toward a total day, hopefully Friday, to spend in my craft room and get to know my new machine better!!


Blessings,
Becky

What to do first

I'm ready to pull out my hair. I have 10 billion things I need to do and another billion I want to do! I think I will do a little of each!

The sunrise in our neighborhood was so pretty.....even if it was red skies (red skies in the morning, sailors take warning.....red skies at night, sailor's delight).


We are enjoying our holiday season, even though it is really strange. Our favorite decoration is our vacation tree. It's a small table-top tree that we keep in our den and decorate with ornaments that we collect on our vacations.

A close up shot shows the ornaments from New Orleans, Alaska and Virginia Beach.

Nothing would please me more than to have to buy a bigger tree!! I love to travel. Sometimes I have trouble finding decorations.....if I can't find an ornament in a certain location (rarely) I purchase a big gaudy keychain ...serves the same purpose.

My Christmas present to myself arrived.....hence the billion things I WANT to do.




Well, I must get at those billions of things!! Have a happy day, everyone!

When it rains, it pours.....

As if I didn't have enough grief going on, I found out yesterday that one of my close childhood friends had died of head injuries received in a fall. We had kept touch over the years, but hadn't talked to her for several months. It's just such a shock.

Yesterday Aubree and Mia came to visit. It was Mia's 1st birthday. She was such a hoot. I tried to take her picture and everytime the camera flashed she squinted.


But I finally was able to sneak one.....


She is such a happy little thing. She is always smiling....and of course she is her Pappy's girl. I'm chopped liver once he comes around any of the grands. It's funny to watch how they just swarm him when he comes home.

I am excited because I am going to meet my sister and her husband for lunch. They are coming to one of the malls to Christmas shop and we are taking the time to yak it up for a while. It will be good for my soul to see them.

Everyone have a blessed day! Becky

A quilt for today......

This is a great day. I did all my errands yesterday so I have no need to leave the house. I have the eternal pile of papers/books to go through and try to get rid of, a couple of loads of laundry to do, and then I can QUILT!!!

Yesterday I did a little Christmas shopping, had lunch with some of my dearest friends prior to Bible Study. The study time was great and uplifting just being with the gals. We are working our way through the Bible, finishing up Genesis next time. We have a lively discussion where many contribute additional word studies, commentaries, cross-referencing points and applications. It is so interesting. We are taking it about 5 chapters a time. Some were daunted at the years it will take to get through the Bible, but we finally decided we would be studying something all those years anyway......it only seems daunting because we started at the beginning! So I think everyone is over all that, now. You'll hear more about the Holy Huddle as time goes on since this group is so important in my life. I thank God every day for them and the love and support of them all.

Here is a quilt I made. I generally make them "throw size" and usually make them for someone else.

This one is actually one I made for myself. It is the pattern "Hearts and Gizzards", a traditional pattern I truly love. My quilt teacher was telling me I needed work on my applique, so I challenged myself to make this in order to improve my skills. It worked....my applique is much better.
Here is an "up-close" of a square.


It is hand pieced and hand quilted. My favorite way of doing things!

Have a great day!!

Merry Christmas to me!

I bought myself a Christmas present today! I found a great deal on a new Pfaff 2048 complete with Fabric mover/stitch regulator. I am so excited. I have been tossing this idea around for a long time....I have actually been holding off on machine quilting Bubby's jar quilt just in case I decided to go ahead with this. So this will be a big adventure for me. I wouldn't have bought a new machine because the Pfaff I have had for several years is still great.....but the fabric mover won't fit on it, so since I plan to be quilting for many more years, I decided it was worth it....especially with this deal.

My Christmas present to myself last year was Jim Shore's Nativity. It is the perfect addition to a quilter's holiday decorations.





I need to get going and do some work so I can stitch a little bit after while.